Companies@UA: База компаний Украины

Moscow, July 29 (Interfax) - OJSC Russian Railways (RZD) raised a $500 million loan on July 27 from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the company said in a statement.

The loan will be provided over 10 years with a grace period of a year and half. The loan is being provided at the interbank rate plus 3%.

The loan, which became the largest onetime investment since the bank's formation in 1991, will help RZD optimize its debt portfolio.

Earlier Fedor Andreev, who until recently oversaw RZD's finances as its senior vice president, commented that the company was planning to raise an EBRD loan at the end of July or the start of August. The loan, he said, would not exceed the value of ruble-based bonds and would be put towards restructuring debt.

This year RZD placed several ruble-based bond issues at rates coming to 13.5%-15%.